


Everything Will Be Alright

by Gummiebear



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 23:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gummiebear/pseuds/Gummiebear
Summary: Dele didn’t realize his Wednesday would turn out this way.





	Everything Will Be Alright

**Author's Note:**

> I was in my feelings and decided to write the most fluffy thing I’ve ever written. I’m also mildly obsessed with this pair and can’t stop writing about them.
> 
> I’m at softestziam on Tumblr.

“You can do it,” he whispered to his reflection. “Cool, calm, collected. Focused.”

“You right mate?” 

Eric shook his head of any thoughts and was slightly startled by Harry Kane’s question. “Yeah, Haz, I’m fine.”

“Talking to yourself is the first sign that something’s wrong,” he joked, passing by Eric and patting him on the back. “You can always talk to me if you don’t have anyone.”

“Thanks,” he genuinely replied with a smile. “Just working through some things, but I got it.”

“Ok,” he said as he continued his walk out the dressing room. “See you for training tomorrow.”

Eric was now alone and staring at his reflection once more. The team just finished their training for the day ahead of the match on Saturday. Most of the team were already gone or in the showers. Eric has finished his shower and dressed, wanting the little bit of alone time he was capable of before the dressing room became chaotic and overrun with people.

“Diet!”

Dele’s voice boomed through the now empty room, instantly bringing a smile to Eric’s face. “You ready Delboy?”

Dele walked over to Eric and playfully shoved him over so he could look at himself in the mirror. He fussed around with his hair momentarily. “Gotta grab my bag and we’re ready to go.”

“See you at my car,” Eric told him as he gathered up how things and headed out the room and made his way outside. He got to his car in second, jogging his way there due to the cold crisp February weather in north London. He started the car and cranked up the heat while waiting for Dele. He fussed with the radio, changing the channel trying to find anything smoothing to calm his anxiety. He felt like he was vibrating, his fingers itching to grab onto something to slow his mind down. The knots in his stomach were making him nauseous. 

“Alright, Diet,” Dele made his presence known, throwing open the back door to throw his bag in. He shut the door and made his way to the passenger side. “Where are you taking me? Am I dressed appropriately?”

Eric never really had a chance to check Dele out properly, so he did now that he had permission. Once again the knots grew tighter. His face felt like it was on fire, his blood burning inside of him. “I’m the fashion fail?”

“You look like your mum still dresses you,” he spat back playfully. “God love Louise but her choices weren’t smart.”

“You try to dress six kids every morning with little to no help,” Eric laughed as he pulled out of his parking spot. The knots loosened but were still beating against his stomach. His palms were sweaty but he had to focus, had to drive them to their next location safely.

The short car ride was filled with laughs and jokes, the radio was still on but was drowned out by all the noise. It was actually calming Eric down, the softness and comfortability of being in your car with your best mate. Dele, per usual, was oblivious to all around him. He just sat back and let Eric drive, it had become a norm for them over the last three plus years that they knew each other. Eric made a turn into the car park, taking the first available spot he found. That’s when the car started to quiet down. Dele was now aware of his surroundings. He looked around the area and shook his head fondly with a smile. 

“Carmine’s?” He asked. “What did I did to deserve a fancy lunch Dier?”

“Just had a craving,” he answered with a shrug. He finished parking the car and turned it off, he got out the car with Dele in tow. 

“Craving for expensive Italian food on a random Wednesday afternoon,” Dele elaborated with a nod, following Eric. “A restaurant neither of us have been to in probably years.”

Eric laughed and let Dele continue his monologue as they walked into the establishment, greeted the hostess and was escorted to their semi secluded table towards the back. Menus were placed in front of them as they sat down, the waiter introducing himself and getting them water while they read over the choices. Dele the whole time looking around in amazement and fondness. 

“They remodeled,” Eric noticed, finally looking around. “A bunch of footballers trashed their back room a few years back I heard.”

Dele laughed and chewed on a complimentary breadstick. “It was a raucous party that day.”

Eric sighed at the memory and let himself just stare a little bit longer at the now occupied back room. It was right after preseason ended, the boss had taken the team about for a celebratory dinner before the season kicked off. As always, the newbies had their initiation songs. Eric would vividly remember Dele standing on top of a rickety wooden chair, a water bottle as his microphone. His phone was held firmly in his left hand as he sang Uncle Kracker’s “Follow Me”. He sang with such passion and so off key it was endearing. Some players clapped along to boost the tempo and mood of the song. Eric recorded the performance on his phone, more than likely for blackmail later on. It was good ammunition. Dele hopped off the chair and made a bee line to Eric, his face red from embarrassment and excitement. Eric cuddled him close for comfort as napkins were being thrown at him as celebration. 

“Diet.”

Eric hummed at the calling of his name from Dele, his mind still wandering to years before. “Sorry Delboy, what’s up?”

Dele laughed at Eric’s oblivious nature and nodded towards the waitress. “Ready to order?”

“Sorry,” he apologized to the young woman who looked a little star struck so that helped him a little. He placed his order of pasta primavera and clicked his tongue at Dele’s order for three cheese lasagna. “Carbo loading?”

“Big game this weekend,” Dele joked. “Don’t tell the boss and we’re golden.”

Eric smiled over at Dele and shook his head in amusement. He enjoyed the little jokes between them, no matter how random and stupid they seemed. Loading up on carbs and asking the other to not tell the boss was just the beginning. Inside jokes between the two of them that sometimes annoyed their teammates, club and country. That’s something that literally warmed Eric’s insides. Every time they cracked a joked Eric could feel his face heat up, his heartbeat pick up a tick. 

“You happy Del?”

Dele was a little taken aback by the question. He studied Eric’s face briefly to see if he was taking the piss or being serious. “When I get my food I will be.”

“Seriously,” Eric sighed in response. “Are you happy in life Dele?”

Dele grabbed another breadstick and took a bite as he pondered Eric’s question. They rarely got philosophical with one another, tried to keep conversations lighthearted and fun. “Sure, I mean, yeah. I have the job I always wanted, have a great family, and even better mates.”

“You don’t feel like anything’s missing?” Eric pushed. His hands were twitching underneath the table, grabbing hold of the tablecloth to stabilize himself. He tried to control his face, feeling it turn hot and eventually red. He could blame the heat in the restaurant, but that would be an obvious choice. 

“No,” he responded, his voice sounding unsure. “After an away game or a horrible loss I’d like to come home to someone I can just forgot all that with, you know?”

Eric hummed in response, his instincts telling him to abort mission and change the conversation as soon as possible. He was intrigued though, wanted to know more about the inner workings inside Dele’s psyche. This though was a conversation neither of them ever had with one another. They always steered clear from talking about each other’s personal lives, until now. “No one you fancy?”

“You know someone Diet?” Dele replied cheekily, eyebrows raised in curiosity. “You’ve got so many family members, maybe a cousin or auntie I haven’t met yet.”

“Like I’d let you date someone in my family,” Eric replied dryly. He took a sip of his water, his mouth feeling stuck. His mind was fuzzy, dizzy even. His brain was screaming at him to just open his mouth and speak, to say what he really wanted to say. He couldn’t though, he was too afraid, too stuck. 

“Food!” Dele exclaimed gleefully as the server approached. Dele watched like a hawk as the plate was placed in front of him, acting like he never ate a day in his life. “What?”

“You’re legit gleefully giggling to see food,” Eric responded, shaking his head. It was endearing to see Dele like this. He’d rarely seen him like this outside a match or training. Maybe when he won a grueling game of Fortenight or Uno. 

“I’m always happy, Diet,” he rebutted stubbornly. “Not everyone is sullen and pensive like you.”

“Swallow a dictionary?” Eric quipped without missing a beat. He thanked the server as he filled up their water glasses before leaving with a nod. 

Dele took a big bite of his lasagna, his eyes rolling at the taste. Yep, he made a good choice to break his healthy eating regime for one night. He swallowed and took a large sip of his water, just staring at Eric the entire time. “Why do you always pick on me Eric? I never see you do this with Haz or Winks. Well, we all get on Winks to be fair.”

“Cause I like you,” he guessed with a shrug. Just saying the word out loud cause his stomach to do loops, ending up knotted. It was a simple response, truthful, and it took a lot of him to say. How was he supposed to confess his love now?

Dele’s cheeks blushed a little at the response, his fork aimlessly moving around his plate. “What else is on the agenda for today?”

“Maybe back to my place to watch a movie,” Eric said, swirling past around his fork. 

“You trying to woo me, Diet?” He asked jokingly. Laughing louder at Eric choking on his water in shock over his words. For a brief moment he was concerned, Eric still coughing, his face turning red. “You alright, mate?”

Eric coughed a few time to clear his lungs of the water it had filled up with. “I’m alright. Do you umm wa-want me to woo you Delboy?”

It was now Dele’s turn to have his face soften and have a pink hue to it. When he blushed he didn’t turn into a tomato like Eric did, no, he looked sun kissed. He looked like Eric remembered him from after his holiday in Los Angeles. Refreshed, younger even, but overall beautiful. “You’d be a shite boyfriend Dier.”

“Would not,” he gasped in shock, hiding the fact that Dele’s words cut him deeper than he anticipated. 

Thus began a heated conversation between the two of them of what constituted a good boyfriend. They ate, Eric freely stealing food from Dele’s plate and vise versa. Dele assumed he was wiser on the topic of relationships seeing he’d just came out of one, but Eric quickly disagreed, his argument being his age hence he had more wisdom. The conversation was light hearted and lacked any kind of heat but it flowed smoothly between. It was just strictly banter. The busboy came to clear their now empty plates before a dessert menus was placed in front of them. Without hesitation Eric ordered the most chocolate covered item them had. Damn their diet, they were going to indulge today.

“So, what if you were my boyfriend,” Dele said casually. “How would you treat me, hmm?”

Eric swallowed the massive thump that formed in his throat. This was not how the night was supposed to progress. He was supposed to grab a late lunch with Dele, watch a movie and confess his love as he drove him home. He wasn’t excepting to expose himself in the middle of a crowded restaurant over a chocolates dessert. “Del-“

“I’m waiting,” he said with a hum. “Do you not think as my hypothetical boyfriend, that I deserve the world?”

“Del,” he repeated pathetically. Eric stabbed at the dessert with his fork to waste some time. “You would deserve everything you ever wanted. Even though you have anything and everything you ever wanted, I’d still find a way to give you more. More than physical or material things. I’d always want to see you smile, your genuine smile is something to be marveled at always.”

“Diet.”

“When you blush,” he continued with a sigh. “Your skin looks sun kissed, like the sun came down to earth to nourish your perfect skin with its nutrients. I’d make it my mission to make you happy all the time. Let you meg me at practice whenever you wanted and try to not be indignant.”

“Eric.”

“Kiss away your frowns,” he said dreamily. “Never give you a reason to frown to be completely honest. Let you gabber on for hours about something I don’t care about just because it brings you so much joy. Take you to Portugal on holidays so you can experience my life there, see the sun rise up over the Atlantic, the beautiful hues the sky turns into over the crystal blue water.”

“Like your eyes,” Dele interjected, his voice barely above a whisper. Knuckles white from how tight he was gripping the table. The heat in his belly overwhelming. The temperature inside the restaurant was comfortable but Dele could feel the the sweat building up around his hairline. 

“Del.”

“You’d be a decent boyfriend,” he finally allowed himself to say, finding the strength in his voice again. He wasn’t confident as he spoke, but more aware than before. “Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

“Even you?” Eric asked boldly, surprised at his own question. He didn’t even think, he just spoke and words flew out of his mouth. 

Dele stared at the dessert in front of him, suddenly craving chocolate and nothing else. His brain was itchy and he was hyper aware of his surroundings. The crowd of diners around him either eating a late lunch or early dinner. They were semi secluded in the back, not a prying eye or ear in sight. He picked at the dessert, trying to get the most chocolate on his fork possible. He took a bite to give himself time to answer even though he could see Eric literally and figuratively sweating across the table. His response would either make or break their entire time out. 

“Del,” Eric pleaded. 

“I didn’t expect this on a random Wednesday afternoon,” Dele began. 

“Expect what?” Eric asked curiously, the knots in his stomach growing tighter. His heart beating a little faster, his pulse pounding against his skin. 

“Exposing myself,” he laughed, looking down at his plate again, seemingly embarrassed. “I was just going to walk around with these feelings until they consumed me and move on with my life like nothing happened.”

“Feelings?”

Dele bit at his bottom lip, dull nails scratching at the back of his neck. Trying to do anything to center himself as a way of focusing. He could feel Eric’s blue eyes burning into him, a puppy dog face looking over at him desperately. “It started here, actually. You cuddled me after my song and something in my brain clicked. Like I proper heard it click. Kept it to myself so I wouldn’t ruin anything. Sometimes assumed I was just making things up because I was alone and had no one around to help and support me proper.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Eric was at a loss for words but hanging on to every last syllable Dele was muttering. He couldn’t in his wildest of dreams picture his day going as it was right now. Under the table he pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming and this was his real life. 

“Then the Euros happened,” he sighed. “After the Iceland match, remember how you comforted me in my room after? You were more focused on making sure I was okay than anything else. I wanted to tell you then but Haz told me to leave it alone. We were all raw and a fresh wound. It needed time to heal and me telling you how I felt would just add to the confusion we were all feeling.”

“Haz knows!” Eric gawked, laughing. The memories of earlier in the day flashing in his mind. Harry Kane had known for a least three years of Dele’s feelings and just let Eric wonder around helplessly. Some captain and mate he was. 

“Russia solidified it, even before your master goal against Colombia,” he quickly clarified. “I jumped into your arms and my brain screamed at me to tell you that I loved, love you. I had Ruby there and didn’t want to make things messy. I think she knew all along that my heart belonged to you, always had, always will honestly.”

The waitress came to clear their dessert plates and silverware, leaving a heavy silence at the table. They just kept starting at each other across the table, Dele looking vulnerable and raw, his chest open and exposed for only Eric to see. Eric looked dumbfounded, words ready to be reciprocated hanging on his dry lips. 

“Will that be all?” The waitress asked, looking between both men. She received two quick nods and smiled at them. “I’ll be back with the check.”

Eric knew it was his turn to speak, had to say something. He had a speech prepared in his head from earlier in the day. Knew how each word was supposed to sound once it left his mouth. Now things were turned upside down, Dele had taking the wheel in his hands and was steering the conversation. Eric shrugged his shoulders. “I love you. Simple as that. I had this whole speech prepared but you left me speechless. Li-like I don’t know what to say, where to begin.”

“Have a goodnight gentlemen, meal is on the house courtesy of Carmine himself,” the waitress interrupted once again. 

Both men thanked the waitress gratefully, extending their sentiments to Carmine and the back staff as well. They gathered their belongings, shrugged on their coats and put on their beanies before walking to Eric’s car. They walked the few feet in silence, the weight of the conversation hanging heavy over them. Eric turned on the car and blasted the heat, not knowing what his next move should be. 

“Home?” Eric broke the silence, looking over at Dele who was looking out the passenger window. 

“You owe me a movie Diet,” he reminded him softly with a wide smile. 

The calm that consumed Eric could only be described as pure softness. He felt like he was wound so tightly that one single word or touch would break him. Dele’s answered made him limbs go loose and release everything inside him. He just laughed, a laugh that took over him immediately. He couldn’t control his emotions, they just took over him. 

“Alright, Dier?” Dele was looking him at concerned and a tad confused at the sudden outburst. 

“I love you,” he replied effortlessly. They hadn’t even left the car park and he was so comfortable with saying his feelings for Dele out loud, before they even had a proper discussion about anything. “An all consuming, can’t eat, can’t sleep, deeply and sometimes frightening type of love.”

Dele let Eric’s words wash over him, taking the heels of his palms to scrub over his face. The words hit him hard, lighting him up from the inside out. “I would’ve waited forever to hear you say those words to me. For me to say them back.”

“We’re getting all mushy before our first kiss,” he observed, finally pulling out of the spot and onto the road. He felt a shiver up his spine at the realization of being able to finally kiss Dele. 

The air between them was palpable as Eric drove. The radio was on low but they remained silent during the drive. The silence wasn’t awkward, just comfortable. At red lights, Eric would steal glances at Dele who was aimlessly looking at things on his phone, and occasional double tap letting Eric know that he was on Instagram. He had a permanent smile on his face that Eric could write poetry about, if he knew how to write poetry. Maybe a song, or a sonnet even. The air grew thick as Eric turned into his driveway, his home straight up ahead of them. He had no idea what was going to happen once they got inside. Nothing and everything rested on the next minutes. They exited the car still silent and Eric fumbled with his keys to let them in. The scratching of paws on the hardwood immediately greeting them. 

Both men pet the dogs warmly before Eric led them outside to run around and let all their excess energy out. It was still quiet between the two of them. Neither of them knowing what to say first or even how to say it. Dele was gnawing at his bottom lip in worry. He still felt vulnerable and exposed, afraid of what he had said and what may be said shortly. On the pitch, and sometimes off, he was confident, assured of himself, now he was acting out of character. He opened his heart and placed it firmly in Eric’s hands. 

“Come here,” Eric call knocked him out of his thoughts. He pulled lightly on Dele’s sleeve, pulling him closer as they stood by the back door to carefully make sure the dogs were okay outside. 

“Hi,” Dele whispered once he was in Eric’s space. “We’re okay?”

“Perfect,” he assured him, running his hands up Dele’s arms to warm him up. Eric never realized that they were the same height until just this moment. He always assumed he was larger than him, was always told he was. But like this, they were equal. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect,” he echoed Eric’s words, a smile breaking out on his face. He sucked in a breath at the closeness. They had been this close before, Dele literally throwing himself at Eric all throughout Russia. They lived in each other’s pockets for the greater part of three years. This time it felt different, eclectic. 

Eric placed his thumb under Dele’s chin to lift it up a small amount. He stared into his eyes and swallowed audibly. Here went nothing. Eric merged the small gap between them and hesitantly kissed him. A small gasp escape Dele’s lips at the contact. Eric took that as acceptance and mustered up more courage to kiss him again, this time with more heat behind it. He dropped his hand and placed them on Dele’s east as Dele put his hands on his either side of Eric’s face. Dele nibbled in Eric’s bottom lip as he opened his mouth to invite Eric in. The second he felt Eric’s tongue against his, Dele felt like he was flying. Like he was a kid again back in Milton Keynes having his first kiss with Clarissa Simpleton behind the school yard in grade seven. This was better though, more than he could explain really. 

“What’s going on in your head?” Eric asked as he pulled away reluctantly. He rested his forehead against Dele’s, both of them smiling like fools. 

“This was not the Wednesday I was anticipating,” he laughed, kissing Eric momentarily. “Love you.”

“Love you,” he whispered back.


End file.
